by Victoria McCombs
publisher’s synopsis
They vanish without a trace, disappear into the night . . .
Each year on the center island, one girl is chosen to be the next Mortal Queen of the idolized fae. The mortals praise these lucky girls, but their daughters are never seen again.
The fae realm is eternal night, where disputes are settled by chess matches, power is acquired through the most devious kinds of trickery, and seven illusive kings roam.
The fae hide their faces behind masks and guard their glass hearts to keep them from shattering. But beyond the veil of this luxurious paradise, a dark secret simmers, for their Queens have disappeared.
When aspiring artist Althea is selected, she is desperate to avoid the same mysterious fate. With no one to trust, she conceals messages in paintings and receives anonymous replies from a stranger who slowly reveals the tale of a girl who outwitted the fae. Only if she is clever enough will Althea survive the fate of the Mortal Queens. As long as the king who cannot love does not claim her first.
Mortal Queens reminded me of Caraval–a glittery, captivating world; high stakes games; and characters you aren’t sure you can trust.
As the readers are told, the realm of the fae is indeed captivating. I don’t want to say too much and give away the fun of discovering it, but McComb’s creativity was on display in the worldbuilding. I look forward to exploring more of the fae realm in the next book.
As is typical with fae, you never know which characters you can trust. Thea was a great main character. Talen and Odette were also very fun side characters. The plot holds a few surprises along the way, with more than one twist at the ending (you’ve been forewarned 😉).
Mortal Queens is an excellent beginning to this new fae duology.
Cautions: moderate romance; two kisses
I received an ARC from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Hailey Huntington 
Leave a comment